IN A THREEPEAT, TORONTO PLAYGROUNDS PREVAIL 7-5 OVER THE ROYAL YORK CARDINALS TO TAKE THE EBA MOSQUITO SELECT CHAMPIONSHIP PRIZE AT RAVINA GARDENS
2016 EBA Mosquito Select Champions: Toronto Playgrounds
Tournament Game Post edited with file from Marco Bianchi. Photo courtesy of Andrew Galloway.
Beneath a blanket of warm and breezy summer skies, our Toronto Playgrounds Mosquito Selects prevailed 7-5 over the Royal York Cardinals in 6 ½ innings this afternoon at Ravina Gardens to win the 2016 Etobicoke Baseball Association (EBA) Mosquito Select Championship.
Here is a recap of Sunday’s road to glory:
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TP eliminated the Annette (Minor) A’s with a nail biting 8-7 semi-final victory on Sunday morning, then proceeded to eliminate the Royal York Cardinals 7-5 in the Championship game.
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In the semi-final game, TP was down 5-1 heading into the top of the sixth when TP struck for three runs to trim the lead to 5-4. After the A’s hit a two run home run to stake themselves to a three run lead. However, TP rallied for four runs to take a 8-7 lead. Annette proceeded to put the winning run on second in the bottom half of the seventh, but TP closer Charlie (7) induced a groundout to second to end the game.
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In the Championship Game, TP went down 2-0 in the first. However, TP battled back to tie it and then load the bases for Charlie, who hit a bases clearing triple to cap a five run third frame. And from that point on, TP would not look back.
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From there, the TP pitching brigade of Cooper (2), Jordan (10) and Charlie combined to limit Royal York to three runs as TP tacked on insurance runs in the sixth and seventh to salt the game away. TP closer Charlie struck out the last Royal York batter to seal the deal on the championship.
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Jordan had a standout pitching performance, giving up no runs over his 70 pitches in his two appearances on Sunday, spanning 3.2 innings. Jordan stranded four inherited runners in the process.
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Next up are the provincials over Labour Day weekend.
With their victory in the championship final, TP finishes the 2016 campaign undefeated. After compiling a sterling 12-0-1 regular season record, the TP Mosquito Selects went a perfect 5-0 during the playoff journey at the tourney. TP will now begin their quest for more postseason glory at the Ontario provincial finals.
In addition, Toronto Playgrounds has threepeated as the EBA Mosquito Select Champions, winning the title in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
The TP Mosquito Selects also had great success competing at the Woodstock Minor Baseball Association Mosquito Select Tournament in June, and the Vaughan & Muskoka tournaments in July.
The TP Baseball Committee wishes to congratulate and thank Mosquito Select Head Coach Marco Bianchi; Assistant Coaches Mark Higgins, Andrew Larsen and Adin Wener for their fortitude and patience in steering these talented Mosquito Selects through the highs and lows of a fun and successful 2016 season.
The Committee also wishes to commend all the Mosquito Select players, coaches and parents for representing the core values of the Toronto Playgrounds Baseball program with honour, dignity and professionalism on and off the diamond at the tournament and throughout the long season.
WAY TO GO, TP!